(84th and 90th Reserve Infantry Regiments: 9th Corps District—Schleswig—Holstein and Mecklenburg. 27th Reserve Infantry Regiment: 4th Corps District—Prussian Saxony.)

1915.

1. The 54th Division was formed in March, 1915, by the removal of regiments from divisions engaged at this time between the north of Noyon and east of Soissons.

Two of these regiments, the 84th (18th Division) and the 90th Reserve (18th Reserve Division), came from the 9th Corps District (Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg); the third regiment, the 27th Reserve (7th Reserve Division) was originally from Prussian Saxony (4th Corps District).

Champagne.

2. Concentrated in March near Guise, the 54th Division was sent to Champagne in the middle of April (vicinity of Perthes), where it remained until July, 1915.

Russia.

3. In July it was transferred to Russia. It fought on the Narew (July and August) and on the Niemen, southeast of Grodno, in September.

France-Oise.

4. Brought back to France at the beginning of October, it went into line on the 12th on the left bank of the Oise (QuenneviÈres-Moulin sous Touvent).

1916.

1. Withdrawn from the Oise front in January, 1916, the 54th Division rested in the vicinity of La FÈre until May. During this time it was occupied in defensive works in the vicinity of Soissons-Craonne.

Verdun.

2. In May it was transferred to Verdun. It occupied the sector of Hill 304 on May 14.

3. About September 11 it crossed to the right bank of the Meuse and advanced north of Fleury. On October 24 it was dislodged by the French attacks and thrown back with heavy losses north of Douaumont Fort. It was relieved at the beginning of November.

Lorraine.

4. Having scarcely made good its losses, it went back into line on November 5 north of Flirey en Haye.

1917.

1. The division remained in the calm sector of Flirey during the winter of 1916–17.

Aisne.

2. Relieved in the middle of April, 1917, it was sent behind the Champagne front (vicinity of Asfeld). On April 21 it reenforced the lines at Berry au Bac. It underwent the French attack of May 4, to which it opposed a serious resistance on the Juvincourt Ridge, but suffered heavy losses (650 prisoners).

3. It was withdrawn from the Aisne front on May 10.

Champagne.

4. Sent to the east of Rheims, the division occupied the sector south of Somme Py from May 15 to July 24. It was filled up there in June by several reenforcements, totaling about 2,000 men.

Ypres.

5. On July 25 it entrained at Machault (southwest of Vouziers) for Charleville, from which place it went to Belgium after a short rest. It was in action east of Ypres from August 5 to 19, and suffered new losses during the British attack of August 16. One company of the 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment was reduced to one officer and four men.

6. Sent back into line at the end of August on the Cambrai front (Havrincourt-Villers Plouich), the division again lost very heavily in this sector, principally in the course of a tank attack on November 20 (2,789 prisoners).

Lorraine.

7. Relieved immediately after this attack, it was sent to rest in Lorraine and reorganized. Between August and November the division received more than 3,000 replacements. (British Summary of Information.)

RECRUITING.

Mixed upon its formation (Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Prussian Saxony,) the 54th Division remained so with a tendency, nevertheless, to make the 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment a pure Mecklenburg regiment and to reserve the drafts from the rest of the 9th Corps District for the 84th Infantry Regiment.

In January 1918, the 1919 class did not seem to be represented; the 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment had just received replacements made up of men put back in the 1917 and 1918 classes who entered the service in September, 1917.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The 54th Division held the most active sectors on the Western front; it has everywhere given proof of great energy in its resistance, especially at Cambrai in November, 1917. However, before the affair of Cambrai rather frequent desertions proved that the losses incurred at Ypres had weakened the morale of the troops; besides, the replacements received in Lorraine were mostly composed of returned wounded of all ages.

However, the 54th Division tried, during its stay in Lorraine, to amalgamate all these elements and to renew their combat value by intensive training and careful instruction (March, 1918).

1918.

Battle of Picardy.

The division was relieved in the sector north of Nancy about February 17 by the 48th Landwehr Division. It remained in Lorraine in March undergoing training for open warfare. It entrained near Dieuze on the 24th and traveled via Metz-Sedan-Charleville-Mons-Valenciennes to a place about 10 miles east of Douai. The division expected to come into line near Arras, but after resting one night at Douai it marched off toward Peronne and arrived at Rosieres on April 2. It moved up to the line north of Moreuil on the night of April 3–4, taking part in the attack. The division withdrew on the night of the 5th–6th. It returned to line south of Thennes on April 10 and stayed in about eight days.

Somme.

2. The division rested at Cambrai until the night of May 22–23, when it relieved the 183d Division near Ville sur Ancre. It was relieved on June 20 by the 107th Division. Following its relief, the division rested north of the Somme until August 3, when it was engaged near Antheuil. About September 1 the division left its sector near Lassigny and relieved the 105th Division northeast of Noyon. Here it was relieved on September 10.

Cambrai-St. Quentin.

3. The division rested 15 days before it entered line northeast of Hargicourt on September 25, relieving the 232d Division. It fought in the Le Cateau area until October 12, when it retired to reserves in the vicinity of Landrecies. On November 2 it was reengaged at Ors and continued in line until the armistice. The last identification was at Lemont-Fontaine on the 8th.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The division was rated as second class. In the last year its service was largely on the defensive in active sectors. In this capacity it was almost constantly in line.